A New Chapter In Life
by Christina Wynnwood
Summary: One shot. Ron left Hermione for another girl. She's broken and torn until Harry confesses that he has feelings for her. Conflicted, she gives him a chance and realizes that the man of her dreams was masquerading as her other best friend. R&R please!


_Recently, I went through a pretty hard breakup. I wrote this one shot story from that incident. A guy of two years left me for another girl. Shortly after that, a close friend of mine confessed that he had feelings for me. Wary at first, I wasn't sure how to react. Eventually, I gave him a shot. Now, I'm surprised as how our relationship has progressed. I never would have thought that he would be a good match for me. Now I'm eating my words._

_As always, I don't own Harry Potter but the relationships from the story related closely to mine. I hope you enjoy it! Comments and feedback are very much appreciated!  
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><p>It was funny how Muggle pictures could elicit such emotion from her.<p>

The pictures of the wizard world were enchanted so that the occupants moved, but they were often colored in black and white. They didn't show the flaming red hue of his hair or the tanned, freckled skin like her vivid Muggle photographs did. It was in remembering those things that hurt her the most. His little quirks that she had fallen for so long ago were causing her nothing but pain now, bringing forth seemingly limitless tears.

He had left three months ago, saying that he couldn't do the relationship anymore. Just like that, he spoke that he would always love her and then he turned his back on her. However, she knew the truth of the matter, even if he wouldn't speak it. She had seen in coming for months. In her desperation, she tried to keep him from the girl but Ron called her jealous and overbearing, saying that she was paranoid and nothing was going on between them.

But he had lied. He fell for the other girl and broke up with Hermione to pursue the new interest, leaving her broken hearted and empty on the inside. The only thing she felt was pain.

She had gone through the sleepless nights where alcohol had comforted her. It had been her only vice after the split. It made her numb to the memories; to the sound of his voice; to the feel of his skin. That tactic lasted two months before she gave it up. The hangovers were too much and she knew that she would have to deal with the grief sooner or later, no matter how badly she wanted to forget all about him.

The only way to do that was to eradicate all traces of him from her life. Everything that he owned had to go. Every picture, every article of clothing, every birthday and anniversary gift needed to leave her presence. It was the only way that she would be able to move on and start the healing process.

Harry knew this and offered to help her with the cleaning of her condo. For months now, he had watched his best friend struggle with the breakup. Secretly, he was disgusted with Ron, whom he still talked to on and off. Though, he never got involved and kept his thoughts to himself, whenever the red head brought up his new girlfriend, Harry couldn't help but swallow the bile back in his throat and force a smile, pretending to be happy for him in the process.

Ron had reduced her to nothing. She was no longer the outstanding student that she had been with the shining smile. Hermione wasn't the girl that had fought alongside him in the War. Harry had to watch as Ron decimated the girl. He had been there for the worst of it. She wouldn't eat, couldn't sleep, and wanted nothing more than to drink herself to death. Harry watched over her, his green eyes soft with worry and compassion. Even while she cried, she was beautiful. Her brown eyes shimmered in the darkness and he yearned to brush away those salt trails on her cheeks.

He had always felt that way. All through their schooling, he knew that he felt something special for the girl that masquerading as his best friend. But Harry never made his move. He had his misgivings and fears and doubts. With his questioning the idea of a relationship, she had gone to Ron without ever knowing how Harry felt.

Once the two started dating, he had settled for Ginny who was sweet and pretty but didn't hold a candle to the older, clever witch. Their relationship hadn't lasted long however, and Harry went back to doting over Hermione.

Long ago, she had her suspicions of Harry's feelings but fell so hard for Ron that she tossed them aside, convinced that Ron was the final man for her. Even when she felt the fluttering of emotions toward Harry, she pushed them away. Then, when it all went to hell, she didn't even wonder why Harry stayed by her side; she was just thankful to have him around.

His embrace was warm and his words were comforting. He spoke of a time when she wouldn't hurt anymore. How she wanted to believe him. How she longed for that time to come. The wound that Ron had left her with was festering and refusing to heal. It felt like an infection, taking her strength. _Where is the antibiotic for my ailment_, she often wondered.

Knowing very well that she wasn't ready to even consider another relationship, Harry found himself sitting on his emotions once again, unable to come to terms with them himself and express them openly. However, it came to the point that he couldn't keep quiet any longer.

"I'll wait for you Hermione, no matter how long it takes. I've never felt something like this before and you're worth every minute."

His words stung her in her core. For a moment, all she could see was Ron's face, his lips forming the syllables, his eyes blinking in sincerity. Then all of a sudden, Harry was staring at her, a soft smile upon his face, warming her inside.

His confession did nothing to lessen her pain. She still loved Ron very much but with this new information, she considered her options carefully.

Then, against what she thought, Ron came back to her. He was still with the new girl but he pledged his love for Hermione, saying that he made a mistake that he would pay for until the end of his days. He had lost the greatest thing that ever happened to him when he turned his back on their relationship. However, there were complications. He wanted her to wait for him, until he could find a good time to break up with the girl that caused the whole commotion.

Though a majority of his words sang like the sweetest of melodies in her ears, she found that she didn't trust what he said; not single word. Could things work out? Could all of their plans really be put back into play?

Her doubts outweighed everything Ron said. Though it was Harry who possessed the skill to speak to snakes, she felt that Ron was being the real serpent.

With a cautious spirit, Hermione Granger decided that Harry had been kind to her thus far and that she trusted him without thought. Harry's words didn't stir feelings on suspicion in her heart and she knew he deserved the chance.

But she was conflicted.

Even as she spent time wrapped in Harry's embrace, she couldn't help but think about the relationship that could have been. Did she make the right choice in choosing Harry? Was it right to give up on Ron? Was she ever going to live happily without this confusion in her life.

At first, Harry was an awkward boyfriend and she had her doubts when it came to thoughts of the longevity of the relationship. But, as time went on, he began to develop in ways that she hadn't foreseen. With the right amount of nurturing and reassurance, Hermione started to really feel for him.

The feelings for Ron faded as Harry filled her head with hopes and desires that he hadn't shared with another living soul before.

Together, they grew and so did their love. The pictures of Ron were replaced with smiling ones of Harry and Hermione, holding hands or sharing an embrace or stealing kisses under the moonlight.

The moral of the story is an important one. Just because one door in life closes, it doesn't mean that all of the others will close as well. If you look, and keep trying door knobs, eventually someone new is going to introduce himself. Maybe it'll even been someone who had been around all along but you hadn't considered him or her for whatever reason. You'll never forget the ones you loved and cared for but there may be that person on the side who is screaming for a chance. Don't write him off; embrace him. You might come to find that it was meant to be.

"If you fall in love with two people, choose the second one. If you really loved the first then you wouldn't have fallen for the second."

It's hard to let relationships go but sometimes they need to disappear to make way for better partnerships. You never know. That special someone might have been there all along.


End file.
